2009 September

The Farmer’s Garden: Share the Bounty

I learned about a great new website this week and wanted to share it with you. The Farmer’s Garden is a free resource for sharing and locating local produce. Maureen Farmer, who created the site, agreed to answer some questions for us.

What prompted you to start The Farmer’s Garden web site?

I am a Master Gardener and for the past four years I have been growing as much of my own food as possible. Most growing seasons, I harvest more produce than I can eat, freeze and give away. I realized that when I give a zucchini or a bag of mixed greens away, the recipient seems genuinely happy and their happiness reflects back onto me.

This spring, I taught myself the PHP programming language to supplement my existing programming skills. Home gardening is more popular than ever this year. I combined my profession and passion to create The Farmer’s Garden website so everyone can have access to locally grown food.

How does the site work and how much does it cost?

To find surplus produce in your local area, go to The Farmer’s Garden, enter your US zip code, select the radius that you are willing to travel, click the submit button and see what people in your area have to offer. You also have the option of refining your search by transaction type, category and/or key word.

Registration is required to post a classified to sell, trade, or give away your surplus produce. Food pantries and individuals can also register to post wanted classifieds. There is no charge to use The Farmer’s Garden because registration, posting and searching are all free.

It looks like a great idea. Have people been receptive to it?

Thanks. I have received positive feed back from many individuals and non-profit organizations. My site went live four months ago and I’m happy to already have registered users in almost every State.

Do you have any advice for people interested in growing (and perhaps sharing) some of their own food for the first time?

Gardening is very rewarding and easier than many people think. It is wonderful to plant seeds or seedlings, watch them grow and then actually be able to reap the rewards. Gardening is also fun, educational, and very economical. If you don’t have space where you live, research community gardens or try growing herbs or salad greens near a sunny window.

If you have the space, grow a little extra food to share with others. You’ll be surprised how good a small act of kindness will make you feel.

Any thing else you’d like people to know?

Many backyard gardeners also grow varieties of produce not found in your local grocery store. This is a terrific opportunity to taste new foods. If you don’t know how to prepare something, ask the grower. He or she will probably offer you several tasty recipes to try. You might even make a new friend in the process.

The Farmer’s Garden is new, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for at first, try again next week. We’re growing every day.

Beth’s Note: I encourage you to visit the site. As you know, we grew our own organic garden for the first time this year. We plan to do it again next year and I’m thrilled to know there’s a place where I can easily share our excess food.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: locavore, Square Foot Gardening

Featured Do-Gooder: Fair Trade the White House

by Beth 2 Comments

On random Fridays Smart Family Tips will feature an organization that is a “Do-Gooder”: a group that works to help both people and the environment. The Do-Gooders may be companies, nonprofits, or any organized group that focuses its efforts on making the world a better place.

Last week I republished a post I’d written about the importance of Fair Trade. Karen Snyder kindly left a comment letting me know about a movement I was unaware of, but am pleased about.

Several groups and individuals have gotten together to invite the First Lady, Michelle Obama, to make the White House a Fair Trade Home. Here’s the info from their website, www.fairtradewhitehouse.com:

Fair Trade the White House is a coalition of fair trade vendors and organizations that are inviting the First Lady to join the fair trade movement and make the White House a “Fair Trade Home.” The purpose of the outreach is to raise greater awareness of fair trade to the American consumer so each person will choose to “Join the Fair Party,” and integrate more fair trade purchases into their regular buying habits so that poverty is reduced in America and around the world.

WHO: We are a grass-roots, nonpartisan coalition of fair trade organizations, vendors, retailers, schools, individuals and consumers.

WHAT: We are cordially inviting the First Lady to join the fair trade movement and declare the White House a “Fair Trade Home.”

WHAT IS FAIR TRADE? Through fair trade, people producing a product are treated fairly, paid fairly, and are being fair to the environment.

WHY: Having the White House seek to purchase and use fair trade goods encourages households throughout America to refine their buying habits toward ethical consumption so that poverty, both in America and around the world, is reduced.

WHERE: We are seeking an endorsement by the First Lady to be celebrated through a vendor gift bag exchange which will be given to the First Lady and her staff by key voices in the fair trade movement.

WHEN: Our public invitation to the First Lady was unsealed May 29th, 2009. Throughout the year, we will seek online signatures from consumers and organizations to show the First Lady the momentum and support of the fair trade movement. We hope that the First Lady will accept our invitation, the goal is to conduct a ceremony in May 2010 in honor of “World Fair Trade Day.”

HISTORY: Anti-Body (anti-poverty, beautiful body), an all natural fair trade body-care company initiated this campaign in February 2009 to bring greater awareness of fair trade to the American consumer. A steering committee joined Anti-Body in June 2009 and is comprised of representatives from Alter Eco, Dr. Bronner’s, Equal Exchange, Fair For Life (IMO), Fair Trade Federation, Fair Trade Resource Network, Green America, Handmade Expressions, L. Ishii & Associates, TransFair USA, and advocate Jacqueline DeCarlo.

If you believe in the value of fair trade, please visit the Fair Trade White House site and sign your name to the invitation.

Filed Under: Do Good Tagged With: Fair Trade, white house

Think, Then Do

by Beth 1 Comment

How many times have you heard someone say (or said yourself), “I just didn’t think about it”?

So much of the time the little choices we make each day are based on habit rather than decisive action. If we all took a few minutes to examine our habits and committed to making conscious decisions, imagine what we could accomplish.

Some examples:

1. What if we all thought about where we throw our trash? If everyone thought about what they were throwing away, and decided to recycle everything they could, how much trash would be diverted from out landfills?

2. What if we thought about how we brush our teeth? If every person consciously turned off the water while brushing (or used less water while washing dishes, or took shorter showers, or ran the dishwasher only when full), how much water could we save?

3. If everyone purchased a reusable bottle and never bought plastic water bottles again, what impact would that have on our health (no BPA) and on our environment?

4. If we all became less free with the use of paper towels and napkins, and all other disposable dinner ware, how much plastic could we wipe out?

5. If we all took reusable bags when shopping and never again needed to answer the question, “Paper or Plastic?” how many trees and how much wildlife could we save?

These are just a few examples of choices that are driven by habit. Take a moment today and think about how you can help the planet (and your wallet) by simply thinking. Then do.

Filed Under: Environment Tagged With: recycling, water conservation